>> poison center, this is debra. >> i'm a little concerned that i may have taken something that wasn't good for me on accident. [ phone ringing ] >> i took a few methadone from my grandpa. they were 10 milligrams. >> what you are listening to are actual calls. >> how is he acting? >> at the washington poison center in seattle. >> just drowsy, okay. >> and lately, more and more of them sound something like this. >> and today, i took about 90 milligrams of percocet. >> oh you did? >> 6:00, i wasn't really thinking and i did a bar of xanax and i'm reading all this stuff online how that is a very lethal combination. i have a lot of friends who died in their sleep and i just wasn't really thinking. now i'm wondering if i should stay up tonight.

>> that kind of call to me is really scary. >> oh, it is scary. >> what goes through your mind? >> so, i would be very frightened about that young man not making it through the night. >> dr. bill hurley is the medical director of the poison center. he is also a trauma doctor. >> possibly too many of his meds. >> they are not sure what all they've got. >> we are here in seattle, in part, because the problem is bad. >> this bottle still has quite a bit in it. >> but also because, as you will see, there are real solutions. >> no other meds? >> for hurley, it started five years ago. >> he's got pinpoint pupils. >> he started noticing overdoses, a lot of them, coming through his e.r. doors. >> we thought, well, these are the guys who are on the street, maybe using heroin. >> but looking deeper, he realized they weren't junkies, not at all. it usually began with a back sprain. >> they were taking these medications not to get high but try to control pain in most cases, back pain and then they were mixing them with other

medications and having fatal reactions to that. >> a lot of people have back pain. a lot of people take pain medications for that pain. and what you're saying is a lot of those people are then dying? >> yeah. a lot of them are dying and a lot of people in our culture right now are at risk of dying from the exact same thing. >> i wanted to know more. so they allowed me to listen in. >> poison center. may i help you? >> yeah, my wife took hydromet and when we checked it later, she had taken 30 millimeters instead of five. >> to see the problem firsthand, i rode along with lieutenant craig amman. he has been on the job for 30 years. he will tell you, when he takes an overdose call, the usual suspect is a painkiller. >> what sort of impact have you seen here in seattle? >> well, i think if you pull a group of people together from this community, someone in that group is going to have had a friend, a loved one that has either had difficulty with a prescription drug or potentially

died from that. >> amman's unit responds to 45 calls a month about overdoses involving these types of medications. and this is important, it can be difficult to tell whether it's a painkiller or heroin, because they come from the same ingredient and do the same sort of thing to your body. >> aside from needle tracks in the arms, someone who has had an overdose of pain medication like that or heroin, they could look very much the same? >> absolutely. they could be unconscious from a medication that they think is relatively safe for them because instead of getting it on the street, they get it from a pharmacist. >> okay. 36, code green. >> possible drug overdose. [ sirens ] these people are suffering from chronic pain. they know that a little bit of pain medication helps, so maybe a lot would help a lot more. >> when we arrive, another medic is on the scene. >> somewhere in that parking

garage, there's a call about someone having a drug overdose. >> the overdose victim came to and walked away, but while we're there, another call. and it's been just a few minutes. >> we've got a 52-year-old. he took approximately three dilaudid plus methadone. >> i decided to ride along with lieutenant john fisk, who is headed to the scene. >> sounds like he has decreased level of consciousness and respiratory compromise. sounds like a narcotic overdose. >> car crashes are no longer the number one reason people die accidentally in the united states. nowadays, it is actually prescription drugs. that's because on any given day people take more than the recommended dose, mix and match or take medications not prescribed to them, maybe take pills with alcohol. and all of it can make for a deadly dose.

in fac the most recent data shows 37,000 drug overdose deaths in one year, mostly accidental. about 21,000 involve prescription drugs. and of those, 75% were painkillers. by the end of this hour, i promise you your idea of a potential overdose victim will change -- to this. >> this could be you. it could be me. >> and that's the point. it could be anyone. >> he was big, strong, handsome, smart. wanted to make something of his life. he h no idea that he was turning out the lights. none. and if it's true of him, it's got to be true of a lot of other people. the truth about mascara is... it clumps. introducing a revolutionary new mascara. clump crusher...crusher. 200% more volume. zero clumps. new clump crusher from easy, breezy, beautiful

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on december 19, 2011, benjamin gupta, a law student at george washington university died suddenly. mysteriously. he is no relationship to me, but when his family got word, they spent hours trading phone calls. they were in stunned disbelief. >> there was a message from his mom. and she had left three messages for me, so i knew there was something wrong. >> i received a call from my mom. i didn't answer but then i got a text message from her, which is very unusual. >> and i called her back. and i said, what happened? and she says, it's ben. he died.

i just didn't have any of the information. >> i finally said, how did this happen? and she said he went to sleep the night before and he just never woke up. >> he was always smiling, every picture he was smiling. >> for days, ben gupta's family was desperate for answers. what killed him? he was only 28 years old. he had recently been given a clean bill of health. how could he just not wake up? >> and then the thoughts went through my mind that maybe it was some sort of a brain aneurism or something must have happened. >> but his father was in for a shock after a conversation with the doctor who performed ben's autopsy. >> and he called me and said, yes, you know, they found oxycodone in his system. >> he tells you he believes that your son died of a -- an overdose of narcotics? >> yeah, right. >> what do you think at that

point? >> i was just shocked at that time. >> did you think it was possible, what you knew of your son? >> no. no. >> he worked for the state department and he, you know, was going to graduate in a year with a dual law and mba degree. you know, the type of person where it just doesn't even run through your head that he is having a problem because he is doing so well. >> stuart bridge was a close friend of ben's. they met in grammar school. he recalled a conversation that would later prove to be very important. >> he had met somebody new and he really liked this new girl that he was dating. >> and ben told stuart that he and his new girlfriend tried oxycodone and they thought it was no big deal. >> you know, i'm not doing it regularly. it's not something i'm seeking out, but it's something they've tried. >> now, anyone else might just shrug off that conversation, but bridge wasn't just a friend.

he's also a doctor. and he warned ben about taking oxycodone and about mixing it with alcohol. >> i've seen people die who are on these medications or who have experimented with these medications. >> from just experimenting, the reason, the line between experimentation and death, it turns out, is tenuous. oxycodone and other painkillers like it are what's called central nervous system, or cns, depressants, slowing down the body's vital functions, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure. that is not usually a problem when the pills are prescribed for you, but when you add them to other cns depressants, like alcohol or other prescription drugs, the effect is multiplied. the nervous system slows and slows until breathing, heart rate, brain function, all grind to a halt. ben's deadly dose, according to his girlfriend, was drinking

beer and scotch throughout the day along with an unknown quantity of oxycodone. when his blood alcohol level was tested, it registered .04. that's relatively low, less than half the legal limit. here is the implication, it may not take much alcohol to tip the balance toward death. ben fell asleep in front of the tv and by the next morning, he had stopped breathing. >> almost what makes it even more frightening, that he went to sleep and he had no idea this was gonna be his last night on earth. i mean, he had no idea that this was gonna be it. >> it just seems so preventible and so stupid. it just didn't have to happen like this. it didn't have to be, you know, like that. >> you explained what happened to my friend to me in two sentences. if people get something that simple, that direct, then it almost doesn't matter how boozed up they get before they pop the pill.

they will remember that. >> how are you? >> i first learned about ben gupta's story when i got a phone call just after his death from former president bill clinton. ben's father is an old friend of the clintons. over the years, he has donated thousands of dollars to theirs and other democratic political campaigns and over time, the families became close friends. >> ben, a beautiful man, with a beautiful life. some people live four times as long and don't do as much good or bring as much joy. >> why did you decide to call me? >> i called you in desperation. i wanted to know what to do. i just knew that somebody needed to do something, but that's why i called you. i thought you, a, i knew you'd care about it. b, i thought you'd know something about it. >> i could tell in your voice that you were pretty broken up. what kind of kid was he? >> a light shined out of him. that's all i can tell you. he grew up, he was big, strong, handsome, smart.

and wanted to make something of his life. he was industrious, but normal and liked to have a good time. i promise you that night he had no idea he was turning out the lights. none. and if it's true of him, it's got to be true of a lot of other people. >> as soon as people hear that someone died of a drug overdose, they immediately have a perception of who that person was, what kind of life they led, their behaviors. it's not true in a lot of these people. >> no. >> including ben. >> we -- all of us, the whole culture, we need to start thinking about this. this is crazy. not a single solitary one of these people has to die. >> president clinton said to me, nobody thinks that taking an oxycontin and a few beers is a good idea but you also don't think you're going to die. >> yes. >> you think that was ben's sort of state of mind? i know this is playing with fire a little bit but i'm not gonna die. >> i don't think that he knew

that this could kill him. >> he finds some solace from his son's death by funding programs that educate people about the dangers of misusing prescription drugs. and recently, he made a $1 million pledge to the clinton global initiative to support the former president's newfound passion about this issue. >> he said, i have been very fortunate. and my son was worth $1 million. >> it's still hard to talk about. >> it is. it is. >> do you think it ever won't be? >> no. i think about him all the time. like i'm in d.c. today, so i went walking on the g.w. campus looking for him. >> looking for him? >> yes. and i could feel him. i could feel him. every day, i just miss him.

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this patient's dose, an anti-seizure medication and a couple of painkillers. >> may have stockpiled some of his own and taken it afterwards. >> it's called stacking, prescription pills stacked on top of other pills, each one amplifying the previous one's effect. >> i'd say it probably began about ten years ago. >> dr. steven anderson, an e.r. doctor in washington state, sees the end result of stacking virtually every time he goes to work. >> i've taken two vicodin before, no problem. i've taken a valium to sleep before. no problem. i've had a couple of drinks

before. no problem. but all of a sudden, you add all of those into the same scenario and it adds up and causes the complications. >> you're talking about, when you say stacking, sounds like it makes it exponentially worse. >> exactly. >> here's why. pop a pain pill and you get pain relief. the same time, your breathing slows down. even after the pain relief wears off that slowed breathing persists, sometimes for hours. now, if you pop another pain pill before it's time, you depress the breathing even more. some of the deadliest combinations, high-dose painkillers stacked on other painkillers. painkillers stacked with anti-anxiety medications or painkillers mixed with alcohol. >> we are seeing absolute skyrocketing of overdose deaths and correlates directly with the number of prescriptions that are written.

>> the problem, in part, is that here in the united states, we are being flooded with painkillers. consider this, americans take 80% of the world's painkillers. 80%. distribution of morphine, the main ingredient in most popular painkillers, increased by 600% between 1997 and 2007. pain couldn't have increased that much in ten years but painkillers did. it's become a lucrative business and with so many pills out there, there's no broad system in place for doctors and pharmacies to keep track of it all. and again, every 19 minutes, we see the consequence. and that doesn't even account for people like this man who came close, too close to dying. thankfully, he survived. and so did this man from virginia. >> my girlfriend found me, dead and not breathing, no pulse. >> his name is ben. he didn't want to give his last name.

>> i took some. >> now, listen closely. what he is describing is nearly dying after an overdose. >> i remember standing around feeling good, talking with someone and then thinking, i just need to sit down for a second. i was turning blue. i was gone in a minute. i had only had a few beers and i had also taken plenty of methadone at the same time. >> methadone, which you may recognize as a treatment for heroin addicts, is also a popular painkiller prescribed by doctors. when he overdosed about four years ago, it was the first time ben had tried it. do you remember the point when you started using prescription drugs? >> well, originally, i had been prescribed them for an injury. i was on painkillers and muscle relaxers, and definitely even within that time, probably there were a couple days that i took

more than i was prescribed. >> did you think about the safety at all? >> it's classic statement, this isn't going to happen to me. well, of course, everyone who it happens to said that at one point. >> that's where the story of ben from virginia intersects with ben gupta, the law student and thousands of other unwitting overdose victims, it won't happen to me. >> it's more realistic for someone like me who has a job to overdose because it's amazing how little you need of a mix of alcohol and narcotics to overdose when your body is not used to it. >> how little are we talking about? >> four or five beers and two or three shots and that was it. >> a few beers, a couple of shots and some methadone? >> exactly. >> he was at a party. he felt sleepy. and then he stopped breathing. your girlfriend just happened to find you? >> thankfully. yeah.

>> if she hadn't found you? >> i wouldn't be here. >> you would be dead? for sure? >> definitely. i was dead when she found me. >> for ben, the story's going to sound familiar. it started with a prescription for shoulder pain. in fact, he, in part, fits the profile of an overdose victim. typically, they are male. they are in their 40s and 50s. they started with a prescription. and three years later, they were dead. between the time he got his pain prescription and then had his overdose, ben started to become dependent. >> started out with small, like, you know, vicodin and percocet. but then, of course, those don't work as well, you eventually someday try oxycontin. >> at your peak, how much were you taking? >> eight to ten 80s in a day. and still function. >> eight to ten 80s? >> yeah. >> they are 10 to 15 times stronger than anything we used to have and i don't think that people fully appreciate how strong those medicines are.

and they are longer and longer acting and that's part of the problem, too. >> another problem, these powerful painkillers were originally intended to treat end of life and cancer pain. but, see, those patients didn't live very long, so there wasn't long-term data on what they would do to ben or to me or, frankly, to most people who now take them. they are being prescribed for all sorts of chronic pain problems with no data to suggest that high doses of powerful painkillers are either safe or effective over the long term. >> when did you start taking opiates? >> dr. jane ballantine is an anesthesiologist at the university of washington. >> we have very good physical therapists. >> ten years ago, while treating patients on high defense painkillers, she found something surprising. not only were those patients not getting pain relief but the painkillers were, in fact, doing something that could best be described as the opposite, making patients more sensitive to pain.

it's called hyperalgesia. so, more pain medications ultimately meant more pain. and that, of course, means, well, even more pain medications. it's easy to see the problem. >> the hyperalgesia was so obvious in those patients that you could, for example, see that they couldn't bear the sheet on them or any intravenous stick was abnormally painful to them. >> you said that this has essentially been 20 years of failed experiment and that not many people are sort of supporting this anymore except for the die-hards and the pharmaceutical industry? >> i would never suggest that we shouldn't continue to prescribe for those that are really helped by opiates, people who have a real need, but the way we do at the moment is actually harming more patients than it helps. >> it's the mcdonald's phenomenon. you can go to the emergency department and get your pain

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former president bill clinton's familiarity with painkillers goes back to when he lived in the white house. have you ever been prescribed a medication like this? >> well, i did take some

painkillers when i tore my -- 90% of my quadracep, but i tried to be very careful and i was in a lot of pain. >> and years after leaving the oval office, he once again would need pain pills. he says he and his doctors were cautious. >> after my heart surgery, you know, i hurt pretty bad for three weeks so i got some medicine, but i really tried to get off it as quick as i could and my doctors were really good about it, you know, telling me, take this if it's killing you, but be careful. >> poison center, this is rosie. >> be careful. it's a warning that might prevent call after call pouring in here at the washington poison center. >> poison center, this is debra. >> i wasn't getting pain relief and i took too many oxycodone. i took five ten-milligram oxycodones and i'm feeling really shaky, lightheaded. i'm just nervous.

>> for the most part this hasn't been recognized as a national phenomenon or a national problem at all. >> not recognized among the general population and also not recognized among the medical community? >> exactly. they had no idea that this combination of medications could lead to their death, and in many cases, their doctors don't recognize the risk to those patients. >> so how did we quietly become a country inundated with pain pills? some believe it all began when pain was designated the fifth vital sign. >> when you talk about vital signs, typically, someone gets their body temperature measured, their heart rate, their respiratory rate and their blood pressure, but the results of this push to say the fifth vital sign is pain. never forget about asking someone about their pain. you think that fueled this or helped drive this? >> i do. i think physicians around year 2000 started to get pushed to

better manage pain. and the physicians in our culture, that means give out more medication. >> so pain becomes a vital sign. laws are passed liberalizing the use of opioids. for more than just cancer or chronic pain patients. that creates new marketing opportunities for aggressive pharmaceutical companies. doctors prescribe the drugs for legitimate reasons but for chance could be treated with milder medications or therapy. the result, we proscribe enough pain pills to give every man, woman and child a dose every four hours for three weeks. remember, 80% of the world's opioids are used by americans. 80%. does that surprise you? >> i didn't know that. no. because -- >> is that a cultural problem? >> yes, it is cultural. people think, i've got a headache or i've got this or my elbow is sore or whatever. i don't want to minimize, there

are a lot of people who live courageous lives in constant pain but there's no question since we represent 5% of the world's people we got no business popping as many pills as we do. >> why is this you think, such a distinct american phenomenon? >> we like things to happen quickly an instantaneously. it's the mcdonald's phenomenon. you can drive through and get your food immediately. the same thing, you can go to the emergency department and get your pain relived immediately. >> immediate relief but very little education to the dangers. and lots of questions about the long-term use of opioids. a concern i put to john castellani. he is president and ceo of the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america, which represents and lobbies on behalf of drug manufacturers. do you know of any studies that actually show people taking narcotics for longer periods of time, other than that would be associated with end of life care or terminal cancer and having positive, consistent results?

>> we do know the feedback we get from patients and physicians and that is where patients are able to manage pain with their physician. they are able to manage their chronic and acute pain. they have better lifestyles. they have a more robust life. >> but remember, there is no good scientific data on the effects of long-term use of high-dose opioids. do you think we prescribe too many pain medications in this country? >> i can't answer that. that has to be a decision between patients and their doctors. >> are these medications addictive or not? >> narcotics? everything i know is that they are if they are misused. if they are used properly, they are not. >> problem is misuse is rampant. in 2010, about 12 million americans reported using painkillers without a prescription or medical need. and that number, every 19 minutes, someone died.

the challenge, of course, is finding ways to stop misuse, addiction, and death without cutting off a lifeline. >> life starts to lose some of its meaning when you're in chronic pain. >> i have seen her curled up in the fetal position for hours. the truth about mascara is... it clumps. introducing a revolutionary new mascara. clump crusher...crusher. 200% more volume. zero clumps. new clump crusher from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. and this is the nokia lumia 920 from at&t. it's got live tiles so all my stuff's always right there in real-time. it's like the ultimate personal assistant. but i'm me, and me needs handlers. so i hired todd to handle it for me. todd, gimme that hollywood news! what's happening on twitter? you're trending! yes! i like you todd. i don't like todd because he's quitting. but now i'm hiring a new todd and it could be you. [ male announcer ] go to workforwill.com and try live tiles,

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which was the most effective tool that we've offered you? >> methadone. >> hi, welcome back. >> could you just tell me when your pain started? >> well, actually started after i had my stroke. >> hi, my name is eric hall. >> the university of washington center for pain relief is busier than ever. >> most of my pain comes from laying down at night. >> every single day, we see anywhere between 250 to 300 patients that suffer from acute, postoperative cancer and chronic pain. this is my favorite. >> dr. alex kahana is chief of pain medicine at the university of washington. >> it's all for the patient. this is not a clinic with doctors' offices. this is for patients. >> he designed the center for pain relief, he says, to be a welcoming, supportive environment for patients who

struggle to live normal lives. >> to make it, you know, human, to make it tender, to make it hospitable. when people ask me, is it hard? no, it's not hard. it's a privilege to do that. >> it really gets to you you doesn't it? >> yeah. >> you're taking more than we now consider a safe dose. >> many of these patients are here because some physicians and legislators are trying to curb washington state's prescription drug overdose problem. >> i think this is the worst manmade epidemic in medical history. >> dr. gary franklin is medical director for the state of washington's department of labor and industries. when is the first time this even became an issue that you had noticed? >> by 2001, our claims managers were sending me cases of injured workers who had had a low back sprain and who were dead three years later from an unintentional overdose of prescribed opioids.

it was the saddest thing i had ever seen. >> so he took action, helping write guidelines that this year, became state law. it applies to non-cancer chronic pain patients. it mandates prescriber education, treatment plans called pain contracts between physicians and patients and tracking of opioid use. >> if states don't do new laws reflecting best practices and universal precautions so opioids can be used safely and effectively this will never turn around. >> the washington state law does have its share of critics, many of whom are patients dealing with pain right now. they are particularly concerned about one provision. it requires that if a physician wants to provide a daily dosage of an opiate above a certain amount, he or she must first consultant with a pain specialist. the problem is there aren't enough specialists. >> there are not enough pain docs in the world to take care

of all the pain in king county, let alone in greater seattle. simply not enough. >> today on a scale of zero to ten what would you rate your pain as? >> that's why the university of washington center for pain relief is inundated with patient referrals. >> valerie edwards from sitka, alaska. >> and it's why it organized so-called tele-pain conferences in which the center's experts provide advice to patients. >> a 33-year-old woman with joint pains and you have got questions about, i think, diagnosis and some treatment strategies. >> many of whom are practicing in remote locations. >> her primary concern is just severe joint pain. >> yesterday we had 50 dial-ins all over the country from sitka, alaska, all the way to rochester, new york. >> does she actually have swelling that you can see in her hand? >> one of the biggest fears about the new law is that doctors, unhappy with its requirements, will stop accepting or treating legitimate pain patients, that those with chronic conditions will be left without the care and the

medications they need. >> life starts to lose some of its meaning when you are in chronic pain. >> i have seen her curled up in the fetal position for hours, even crying at times. >> in tacoma, washington, christie and burt, husband and wife, are both in pain. his caused by multiple sclerosis. >> my leg is constantly being electrocuted from the inside out. >> hers caused by a car accident, 16 years ago. >> i was in a big old '77 chevrolet station wagon, bent it in half, i looked in my rearview mirror and i could actually see the woman putting mascara on and i knew i was in trouble. >> you are slowing down or stopped at the light? >> i was at a complete stop. i just saw her barrelling toward me, i could see that she wasn't even looking at the light.

>> putting on mascara? >> yeah, that i could see and she just plowed right into me. unfortunately to this day i still have back issues because of it. >> are you in pain right now? >> i am. yeah. the pain medications make a huge difference, thank goodness. without them, i don't think i would be able to work a full-time job. >> but she says after the new state law passed, no doctor would treat her. how hard has it been to find doctors who give you the medications you want? >> since this law passed, it's been incredibly difficult. i ended up calling multiple clinics. i would call and say -- first words out of their mouth, if you want pain medication, forget about it, we're done. >> christie believes that doctors are turning away patients because they see prescribing any pain medication as a risk. they fear the possibility of unintentionally violating the law. eventually she did get appointments and took along her medical records to prove her need for painkillers.

>> a lot of them didn't even look at them and were not inclined to prescribe me the medications i was on. i just didn't think i could handle one more doctor's visit and feel like i'm being attacked and being treated as a liar. >> did these doctors essentially treat you as a drug addict? >> it felt that way. it was very difficult and at a certain point, i almost gave up. >> christie says her experience is not unique because she is a lawyer whose work includes cases of accidents and injuries. >> i have had numerous clients contact me saying i can't find a doctor, i'm in so much pain. >> has this left some patients in the lurch, made it harder for some patients to find doctors to treat them? >> i think yes, in all honesty, the university of washington

always saw patients that the community felt uncomfortable seeing. that's part of our mission. >> but dr. kahana and dr. franklin believe the guidelines, first published in 2007 as voluntary, are reversing the overdose epidemic in their state. >> between 2008 and 2010, we saw about a 20% decline in the state in the number of deaths. >> she says that her low back pain is at a zero intensity. >> it's working. it's -- that's -- there's no question? >> no, not in my mind, at least. >> this helps me understand that we are on the right track you. >> possible solutions for washington state. but what about the rest of the country? >> you're the chief of explaining things. what do you tell the american people about this? two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs.

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as we speak, someone died now, right now, from an overdose and that something has to change. >> dr. alex kahana at the university of washington center

for pain relief says that change starts with a simple first step, spend time and listen to parents. how would you best describe this place? >> a place where we can actually sit and listen and understand what patients have. >> i thought i'll never get out of this. it was 20 years that i had pain. >> dr. kahana believes better treatment and fewer unnecessary prescriptions will come from understanding a patient's entire life experience. >> you have to start capturing the story of patients in a way that you can extract it and analyze it. >> this is your home screen. >> at the center for pain relief they do this through a system they call pain tracker. it starts with patients filling out a questionnaire before the appointment. >> i see a two-page report. i say, oh, mr. smith, i see you have back pain since 12 years since you fell from a horse.

i see you're sad. you're worried and drinking maybe is a problem. and you say, oh, my god, someone who finally understands what's going on. >> and patients can even see the results tracked over time. but the question is, is there really time for these types of in-depth conversations in the emergency rooms? you guys are busy. do you have time to be drilling down on someone's pain issues when you're dealing with all the things that e.r.s deal with? >> it may not be any longer than five-minute, honest sit-down conversation. but if we're really out there to save lives this is something we have to take the extra five minutes for. >> dr. anderson walked me around a hospital in tacoma, washington. one of the first things you will notice here and every e.r. in the state is a reminder for patients of restrictions on how much pain medication they can be prescribed. >> not only are we all playing by the same rules, we are also now all communicating with one another. >> this is being done through a statewide database. it provides a patient's history of visits to emergency

departments in the last five years as well as other vital information. >> in some cases, it might even show care guidelines, like this particular physician has said no narcotics should be issued through the emergency department because they are on a pain management contract. >> if something like this didn't exist, the scenario is somebody could come to one emergency room, possibly get a prescription for pain medication and maybe even the same day, go to another emergency room and get a prescription for pain medications. that could happen? >> that's happened for years. >> so pharmacies here also share data. >> we now have a prescription monitoring program through every pharmacy in the state of washington that allows me to see every restricted medication that's been written in the last year for this patient. >> there are other states with similar databases but they are not all connected. and an effort is well under way to try to create a national information exchange with the support of the pharmaceutical

industry. >> we are partnering with the national association of pharmaceutical boards on the creation of the interconnect program, which will be a national database, so a subscribing physician can know what an individual's patient's history is. >> congress has considered creating a similar federal system to track prescriptions but that effort has been stuck in legislative limbo. >> we are gonna have to make a decision to save ourselves, to save our families. >> battling this overdose epidemic is a daunting challenge. do you think that it's fixable? >> sure. >> we like our pain pills in our country. >> it is fixable. i think now just bringing this out will have a lot of corrective impact. >> nobody is suggesting we stop prescribing narcotics. they allow so many people to function who would otherwise be crippled by pain.

for them, this medicine is an absolute lifeline. but all of us need to take note, don't take pills that aren't prescribed for you. don't mix prescription drugs with alcohol and never take more than the prescribed dose. you're the chief of explaining things. what do you tell the american people about this? >> i would say we are going to start a national conversation about this but you need to have one in your family. you need to have one in your place of worship. you need to have a one in your place of work. you need to make sure your kids talk about it in school. we need to understand that it is a good thing to alleviate pain. it is a bad thing to kill people through abuse of these alleviations. >> in a nation overflowing with so many pills, with so many patients wanting and expecting the quick fix, with so many truly naive prescribers, users and misusers of medications, we have to find a way to prevent people from taking a deadly dose.

i'm don lemon with a look at the head wliens. a player with the kansas city chiefed shot his girlfriend and then drove to the team facility and turned the gun on himself. he and his girlfriend had a three-month old daughter. an awful bus crash to tell you about, a tour bus smashed about an over pass that was too low for the bus to clear. two people died. you may have heard that in boxing manny pacquiao is headed back in the ring. the fighter who is also a congressman in his home land is fighting juan manual marquez on december 8th and once again, cnn is proud to present you